Micah Halpern Has Been Thinking Again

Micah is our middle eastern analyst and often appears with us on the Morning Zone, plus listen to his morning blogs at 6:35AM MDT

Debate - Unsportsmanlike Conduct

By Micah Halpern

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

The 2nd presidential debate was at time very tense, it even made me uncomfortable watching it at certain moments.

Americans tend to enjoy debates that are properly conducted, where the sides show respect for each other. That did not happen last night. The debaters appeared unsportsmanlike at times and it was, simply put, not nice. According to the rules that they both agreed to, the candidates were not even supposed to speak to or address one another.

In presidential debates, the more details are dispensed the less people are interested. People want platitudes and simplicity. They cannot understand numbers and have no interest in the details.

Simple points win in a debate, complicated points leave people wondering. Repetition after repetition after repetition does not hammer home a point, it makes people restless.

The debaters practiced the details, but the simplest lines were the most successful.

Like when Romney said to the audience "you know better than that" he was saying, you are living it you know the president is wrong.

Or like when Obama said "I find that offensive," referring to Romney suggesting that he campaigned instead of dealing with Libyan crisis.

Americans like a fight - a fair fight, and the 2nd presidential debate did not follow the rules.

Attempted Assassination in Egypt

By Micah Halpern

Tuesday October 16, 2012

Yesterday on the website of Al Ahram, an official Egyptian newspaper, a very telling story was reported.

According to the report an assassination plot against new president Mohammed Morsi was foiled. The web report supplies the name and details about the person who was arrested. He is a 28 year old man from Alexandria named Mohib Ajar.

On the website it says that when authorities searched Ajar's home they found the president's itinerary for his visit Alexandria along with maps, routes and information about bomb making.

The telling part is that this was reported. And as many details as were given, that's how many details were omitted.

Egyptian security is sending a message. They are letting everyone know that they are aware of threats and that they are dealing with them. This was a deliberate announcement.

It was a warning: do not plot an assassination, you will be found out and you will be punished.

New Al Qaeda Tape

By Micah Halpern

Monday October 15, 2012

Ayman Al-Zawahiri, the new head of al Qaeda, has released another video.

This video, like the video released last month, calls for actions against the United States. Last month's video by Zawahiri was probably the trigger that set the Libyan attack that assassinated the US ambassador Stevens and three others.

He is probably hoping for a similar strike now also.

In his message Zawahiri praised all those protesting and all those fighting insults against Mohammed. He called for zealots to "continue their opposition to American crusader Zionist aggression against Islam and Muslims".

Zawahiri refers to the United States as a Crusader and as the Zionist Crusader. The term Crusader resonates with all Muslims. According to their definition, it means that the US and Israel are only a short distraction in the history of Islam.

Like the Crusaders, Zawahiri is saying, the United States along with Israel will be defeated and forgotten.